Adjustable golf bag



Nov. 25, 1958 M. KISH, JR

ADJUSTABLE GOLF BAG 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 27, 1956 INVENTOR.Mew/15L ff/S/vf JR. BY

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M. KISH, JR

ADJUSTABLE GOLF BAG Nov. 25, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 27, 1956United States Patent Office 2,861,614 Patented Nov. 25, 1958 ADJUSTABLEGOLF BAG Michael Kish, Jr., Hightstown, N. J., assignor to AtlanticProducts Corporation, Trenton, N. J., a corporation of New JerseyApplication September 27, 1956, Serial No. 612,422

2 Claims. (Cl. 150-15) This invention relates to golf bags and isdirected particularly to golf bags which can be carried easily andcomfortably under varying conditions of use.

It is usual to provide a golf bag with a shoulder strap designed tosupport the bag in an inclined position when it is carried. However, thenumber, weight, and types of clubs used by difierent players variesconsiderably and even the same player may from time to time have more orless extra balls, sweaters, overshoes, or other paraphernalia located inthe pockets or on the exterior of-the bag.

While the shoulder strap is generally adjustable in length to compensatefor differences in stature of the person carrying the bag, theadjustments thus effected are inadequate to insure ease and comfort forthe carrier. Moreover, the points at which the strap is secured to thebag always remain the same, and as a result, little if any change in thebalance of the bag can be effected to com- 7 pensate for differences inloading of the bag.

In accordance with the present invention these objections andlimitations in prior types of golf bags are overcome and means areprovided for varying the location of thcs-pointson'the bag to which theshoulder strap are secured. In this way the points of support for. thebag may be adjusted as desired so that it will be suitably balanced toinsure ease and comfort in carrying under all conditions of use. Theadjustments are preferably effected by providing the shoulder strap witha connection at on end which may be located near the top of the bag, andwith a series of alternative supporting points for the opposite end ofthe shoulder strap which may be located at spaced intervals farther downthe bag. The bag preferablyis also provided with a rigid longitudinallyextending member which prevents sagging of the bag and aids in thebalance thereof in all adjusted positions of the shoulder strap. Theshoulder strap may, of course, be adjustable in length but suchadjustments are less necessary when the supporting points are variablein accordance with the present invention.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide foradjustment of the shoulder strap of a golf bag in a manner to insurecomfort and ease in carrying the bag by any individual and under allconditions of use.

A specific object of the invention is to provide a golf bag with ashoulder strap and means for varying the points of support of such strapon the bag to secure the desired balance for any user.

A further object of the invention is to provide a golf bag with rigidmeans to which the shoulder strap may be secured to aid in balancing thebag and preventing sagging thereof.

These and other objects and features of the present invention willappear from the following description thereof wherein reference is madeto the figures of the accompanying drawing.

In the drawing:

Fig. l is a perspective showing a typical form of golf bag embodying thepresent invention;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the golf bag shown in. Fig.1; and

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line. 3--3 of Fig.2'. V p

In that form of the invention chosen for purposes of illustration in thedrawing, the golf bag is provided with a base 2, a body 4 and an openupper end 6 for receiving the handles of the clubs. The bag may beprovided with a carrying handle 8 and with suitable pockets 10 and 12for holding gloves, sweaters, overshoes and any other equipment the usermay need. In addition, if desired, the bag may have two ball pockets 14and 16 of the type described in my copending application Serial No.612,383, filed September 27, 1956, arranged on either side of avertically extending panel 18.

In accordance with the present invention the bag further is providedwith a shoulder strap 20 which is provided at its upper end with a snap22 or other suitable means adapted to engage a ring 24 secured by thefitting 26 at the upper end of the bag. At the lower end of the bag theshoulder strap is provided with means such as the buckle 28 carried by astrap 30 secured to the link 32 located at the lower end of the centralpanel 18. The shoulder strap may be of any desired length and may havethe usual openings 34 therein for varying the effective length of thestrap as desired. 7

The panel 18 is provided with a plurality of additional links indicatedat 36, 38 and 40 which are arranged in a series and positioned at spacedpoints along the panel, say 4 or 5 inches apart, between the upper andlower ends of the bag. These links are preferably of such size and shapethat the shoulderstrap 20 is adapted to be passed selec tively throughany one or more of the links 36, 38 and 40 to the buckle 28. When thusthreaded through any of the links, the. lower end portion of theshoulder strap is held 7 adjacent the panel 18 by the uppermost linkthrough which it is therefore possible to vary the location of the pointof support as desired to insure comfort and ease of carrying by anyindividual and under'any conditions of loading of the bag. I

As shown in Fig. l, the lower end of the shoulder strap is connected tothe buckle 28 but passes upward through link 36 so as to establish thepoints of support for the bag at the ring 24 adjacent the top of the bagand at the link 36 which is spaced somewhat from the bottom of the bag.However, if this adjustment should not provide the desired balance andcomfort for the person carrying the bag, the end of the strap can bedisconnected from the buckle 28 and threaded through one of the otherlinks 38 or 40 .as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2, or it may not bethreaded through any of the links as shown in full lines in Fig. 2. Whenthe end of the strap is then reconnected to the buckle 28, the lower endportion of the shoulder strap will be secured to the bag at some otherpoint of support, namely, at the lowermost link 32 to which the buckle28 is connected or at one of the upper links 38 or 40, as desired forease and comfort in carrying the bag.

In order to insure adequate support for the bag throughout the lengththereof so as to overcome any tendency of the bag to sag in the middlewhen heavily loaded or constructed of light weight material, the bag ispreferably provided with a stiff metal bar 42 which extends from a pointnear an upper frame member 44 adjacent the top of the bag to a pointnear a lower frame member 46 adjacent the bottom of the bag. Thebagfurther may be provided with other stays' or reinforcing members such asthe stiff wire members 48 located at circumferentially spaced pointsabout the sides of the bag.

The adjusting links 36, 38 and 40 as well as the lowermostlink 32 towhich buckle 28 is secured preferably en-' circle the bar 42 so as to beheld securely in place with respect to the bag while providing thedesired longitudinal strength to prevent=buckling or sagging of the-bagunder any condition of loading and with" any adjustment of theshoulder-strapZO. In this respect the construction and arrangement ofthe bar 42 and of the links 32,36, 38 and 40 is preferablysimilar-tothat shown a-nd described in my issued Patent No. 2,706,024.The links project through the cover 50 of the bagintowspaced positionsalong the panel 18 forease in threading of the shoulder strap thereto tothe buckle 28-.

The construction described'renders it-possible for the bag to be loadedwith any desired-number'of clubs and with any other equipment such'asballs,- gloves, sweaters,

and the like, and yet whencarried 'by any-person, whethertall or short,the points-ofsupport of thebag may-be varied by slipping the lower endof the shoulder-strap 20 through any one or more of'the links 36',- 38and-40in order to secure the most comfortable balancing and-'support ofthe bag or any carrier. At the same time, the length of the shoulderstrap can beadjusted as desired with a minimum of delay andmanipulation.-

While the shoulder'strap, asshown, is-provided-with asnap for attachingthe upper end -portion ofthe strap 'to the ring 24 and is shown ashaving abuckle 28 at'the lower end-of the strap, it willbe apparent thateither snaps or buckles may be used at eitheror both=ends of the strap.Furthermore, if desired, the buckle 28 may be normally attached to theuppermost link 40 in which case the strap 20 may be passed downwardtherefrom through any one or more of the links 38,-3'6aor- 32f'orsecuring the desired adjustment and balance ofthe bag. Althoughit isfound desirable in practice to secure the upper end of the shoulderstrap to a point adjacent the top 6 of the bag additional links can beprovided as required so that both ends 'of'the shoulder strap can beadjuste'd to vary the supporting points if this-should be desired. Thestyle'of the bag and the type-and location of the pockets for the ballsandother equipment may, of course, be varied and the bag may be providedwith a covering 50 formed of'any suitable material suchasfabric,leather, plastic sheet material, or the like. lt'will thus be apparentthat the characteristic features of the present invention can beembodied in substantially-any type of golf bag to obtain a novel type ofadjustment insuring the desired balance for ease and comfort incarrying-the bag. In view thereof it should be understood that theparticular embodiment of the invention shown in the drawing anddescribed above is intended to be illustrative only and is not intendedto limit the scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. A golf bag having a frame member located adjacent the top of the bag,anotherframe member located adjacent the bottom of the bag, a metal barextending lengthwise of the bag between said framemembers, a shoulderstrap for carrying .the bag, means adjacent the top of the bag forattachment ofone end portion of'the shoulder strap tothe bag, a bucklecarried by the bag and located near the bottom of the bag to receive andhold the other end portion of the shoulder strap, links connected. tothe metal bar and located at spaced points "thereon between the top andbottom frame members along a line extending from said means to saidbuckle, said links extending to theexterior of the bag and being of suchsize that the shoulder strap may be selectively threaded through any oneormore of the links to'said buckle, said other end portionof saidshoulder strap being-'connected-to said buckle and passing through aselected link/to vary the location of the points of support ofthe'bagbythe shoulder strap.

2. A'golf baghaving a framemember locatedadjacent the top of the bag, asecond-frame member located adjacent the bottom of the bag, a rigid'barextending lengthwise of the bag between said frame members, a shoulderstrap for carrying the bag, means for connectingone end portion of saidshoulder strap to the bag near the upper end thereof, means fordetachably connecting the' other endvportion of said shoulder strap tothe bag near the lower end of the bag, and'links connected to the bar atspaced points between saidconnecting means, each of said linkshaving aportion projecting to the exteriortof the bag and presenting an openingtherethrough of-sutticient size to permit the detached end portion ofthe shoulder strap to be passed therethrough to the connecting means'near the lower end ofthe bag, said detached end portion of the shoulderstrap being selectively passed through the openings in said links forestablishing selected points of support of the bag by the shoulderstrap.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,482,372 Rossow Sept. 20, 1949 2,591,217 Thompson Apr. 1, 19522,707,009 Cook Apr. 26, 1955

